'Perth triumph impressive but Kolkata was more special'

NEW DELHI: Former India captain Kapil Dev on Saturday lauded Anil Kumble's men for beating the odds to end Australia's winning run in Perth but felt the victory, though impressive, pales in comparison to the 2001 Kolkata-Test triumph under Sourav Ganguly.
    
"It is a great victory at that, though I consider India beating Steve Waugh's team in Kolkata was a greater one,"Kapil said.
    
The former all-rounder, however, made it clear that Saturday's victory had its own special place because of the extraordinary circumstances under which it was achieved.
    
"Today's win is a great and brilliant victory coming under extraneous circumstances. It is a win that boosts the pride of every Indian because every chip was down and against India's favour," he said.
    
Kapil said the Indians were the underdogs going into the match but did well to come out trumps.
     
"Any cricketer at world level, be it Indian or otherwise, would not have given even 10 per cent chance to India before the match," he said.     

"If you asked anyone, including myself, all would have said a draw is impossible and would have rated Australia as hot favourites with 90 per cent chance. Being an Indian, I would have given 15 or 20 per cent chance to India," Kapil said.
    
Kapil lavished praise on Anil Kumble's captaincy and said, "I congratulate Anil and members of the team and say that the team has proved that their solid victory over the world champions is no fluke as they dominated and showed their supremacy in each sessions of all four days."
    
"More than anything each of the player has done his job successfully and this augurs well for future of Indian cricket," he added.
    
Kapil hoped that the team would carry the momentum into the fourth and final Test in Adelaide and level the series.
    
"I duly hope that they maintain the momentum and reach greater heights. Now we are in a better position to square the Test series against the Australians."